The greatest reward.

This post is inspired by a newer friend of mine. But honestly, I am so inspired by all of you, that I am not sure why it didn't come sooner. Everyday there are people I know taking a stand for themselves, others and their happiness. As we shift back towards a society that is rooted in spiritual and physical well-being, I am beginning to notice people letting go of past belief systems. They are jumping into a new world of possibility, leaving jobs they don't love, getting rid of negative people and systems that no longer serve them and turning to a new outlook on self-fulfillment. When asked why they do not pursue this route sooner, it usually comes back to fear and self-limiting beliefs. Do you believe that limits may only exist in our minds? The dreams we dare to dream might not be as unattainable as we think.

My friend chose a job that allowed him to live a life that he would love. A job that made him excited to come to work, where he could do what he loves and make a life over a living. What is the point of money if you are not happy? Isn't the greatest reward to be living a life that you love? All of these things that we surround ourselves with are temporary. Often the things that bring you momentary satisfaction, can consume our lives (think the paycheck that keeps buying your time to stay longer). Of course the decision was not easy, weighing in finance, opinions of others and the uncertainty of the new profession are very scary. In the end, what was scarier was a life of mediocrity. A life where we settle to be comfortable with complaining, but never trying on the what-if. My friend did! Emotions changed moment to moment up to the big decision. Once you jump you will see, you always find a way to make things work. In the end, the heart beats out the mind every time.

It seems that in order to overcome the barrier of the mind (what we think is possible) and jump into our heart (what is possible/what we really want), we must first overcome the self-limiting self beliefs. We must be in love with ourselves. Not in an egotistical, I am the best type of way, but rather in that you are capable, strong and worthy of everything that you desire to pursue, accepting yourself exactly where you are and honoring your uniqueness. You must also know that though your dreams may be the similar to the dreams of others, you will provide a completely different experience. This is simply because, you are, the one-and-only you.

When we learn to love ourselves and we are committed to ourselves, we will always make choices that support our health, spiritual and mental well-being despite what others may say or believe. We must accept ourselves where we are at. When we learn to love ourselves the comparison stops and the truth begins. What you create will always be original if you deliver from your heart. At the end of the day, the only person you answer to is you. No one will care about what you deliver a month from now, everyone is consumed in their own life, as they should be! The real question is, did it make you happy?

As a yoga teacher, I hear fear creep up often. I have fears of my own. What is it that is going to set me apart? I teach the same flow as these teachers who are awesome. The fact is that some students aren't going to love your class or my class, and it might feel the same as others. Greater than that is, some students will LOVE our classes, for all that we have to offer, not as the yoga teacher but as the person.  It is the perspective you bring into your room that separates you from everyone else in the world, it is the perspective and love that no one else is able to give. We have to remind ourselves of this often, and practice this often. This can be said of any journey, not just the yoga teacher. It could be a chef, an artist, a musician- the list never ends.

I am so excited to hear what your reality life is, I refuse to call it a dream life now. Knowing that our thoughts are things, we can make it happen once we learn to use our fear as a resource. What are your goals? Are you motivated for the right reasons? If you were to dissolve off the earth tomorrow, would you have said that everything you are doing in this moment was by choice? Most importantly, would you say you were living a life that you love? I challenge you to leave your socially trained mind, and listen to your heart. See what comes up and train yourself to move through the fear and into what is possible, because YOU are the miracle, and that is the greatest reward.

Grateful for the Challenges

When it rains, it pours. I don't know why this statement proves true over and over again. It goes without explanation that it is very easy to get overwhelmed, scared and anxious in times of unexpected transition. What can we rely on? That in our lives, change and challenge are inevitable. 

We spend a lot of time replaying what-if scenarios and how things could have gone differently. There are two things you must realize when it comes to challenges and learning to embrace them. First, it will never be the same. Second, that is a beautiful truth.

If you have ever read a book like "The Secret", or paid any attention to the law of attraction, you may slowly begin to realize, things that happen to us are manifested by our thoughts. What you focus on expands.

Sound crazy? Here are some examples. About a year ago I had been thinking about selling my car. I thought about it every day and never took the next steps to proceed. It seemed like too much work. About a week ago, I totaled my car. In the moment, I thought many things. Including that this could be the worst thing that has ever happened to me. My insurance would go up, the people were pissed at me, my family would be pissed at me, this is such an inconvenience, I can't deal with this, I don't have time. Everyone was okay and thank God for that. After two days of chaos and getting things figured out, I finally had some time to sit down and processed what had happened. I remembered thinking about how high my payments had been and how expensive full coverage was. I was oddly relieved at the thought of not having to pay them anymore. I also thought about how I had put it in my goals to go a whole year without a vehicle, conveniently I do not have one. I remembered thinking about how much I wanted to sell my car and move on. I didn't have to do that. I was getting a check from my insurance company for the remaining value of what was left! I let go of the outcome and embraced what was possible.

About a week after the car accident, I left my job. Sort of by choice, sort of not, a bit torn. Again, this was the worst thing that could have happened! I was going to go broke, no one would hire me and I was not valued (so ridiculous, but our minds can be...) I had been debating quitting my job for months, and now I had this big check from my insurance company so that I could take some time to figure things out! 

These two examples are rather small compared to challenges that we will face in our lives. But in the moment, every challenge seems large and overwhelming. When we zoom out and look big picture, we see these moments of transition are usually the moments we can thank for allowing us to develop and grow.

In the initial moments of encountering our challenges, we face all of our demons. The fear, anxiety, comparison, shit we are horrible sort of feelings set in. In the clarity of space and time, we begin to realize how the universe continues to work in our favor if we can continue to shift our perspectives. The thoughts that we have and continue to feed, will manifest themselves in the most unorthodox ways. 

Sadly even loss of friendship or family, could be what allowed you to be free and untied to move closer to your destination. Please do not take this the wrong way, but it can be so powerful to shift perspective around things, and find the slightest amount of gratitude in each event that takes place in your life. How can we find the good in all of this? What allows to move beyond the healthy grieving,  through gratitude and into light? We must mourn but we also must recover, that is what anyone would want for you. 

When you ask a mountaineer why they climb, they would probably speak about overcoming fear, sharpening focus, building strength and character. We must stop seeing our challenges as dead ends and as the mountain summit that hides beyond the clouds. Use this visualization to fuel your determination to succeed anyway focusing on the benefits you stand to gain in the process.

If you learn to see your mountains as a welcome opportunity to stretch and grow beyond where you are now, you will never encounter a mountain that can't be climbed. Allow your gratitude to help you climb. When you are grateful for the experiences that strengthen you, the journey is worth all the while when you are standing at the top in your strength. 

What I can't get enough of right now: Chocolate Coconut Mousse

For real this time... I give up dairy, minus the occasional ghee or goat cheese. What I miss most is ice cream! This past weekend I was in Boston for an engagement party. I haven't been to the city in almost a year! 

In this span of a year I had discovered a little alternative (non-dairy) ice cream shop called FoMu (http://www.fomuicecream.com). Finally, I had an excuse to stop. It was SO GOOD. Arguably better than ice cream that is made with dairy. I got strawberry and chocolate with hot fudge, cocoa nibs and coconut whipped cream! 

The whipped cream was one of the best things I have ever tasted. When I got home, I was on a mission to find a recipe. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for but I got enough ideas to play on my own. 

Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients: 

2 cans of coconut milk- refrigerate overnight. 

as much cocoa powder as you want

optional sweetener- maple syrup, honey, stevia

vanilla extract

 Pull the cans of coconut milk out of the fridge. Flip the can upside down, open it and drain out the coconut water (you can drink that or put it in a smoothie, don't throw it out). 

 Dump the contents into a big bowl.

 Whip the coconut cream until it forms peaks, and fills with air. Should double in size roughly. 

 Add in the flavoring of your choice- here I did vanilla and unsweetened raw cocoa powder. 

 Final product- a cool creamy summer treat.